Sunday, January 22, 2006

Be All That Markus Canby

I figure this may be the only time I'll be dressed in army-wear, so I might as well post it on the interslice. This weekend I went up to Connecticut to act in my friend Brian's short film. It's basically a satire on how military-types are offended by homosexuality, but have no problem killing people. If you've ever heard Bill Hicks's "we are the military" routine, well, it's pretty much that in movie form.

Brian was in charge of wardrobe and props, as well as being the director. He found a pair of child's camouflage pants at the Salvation Army, which he cut up into strips for head- and armbands. He also bought a bunch of greenish shirts, and toy guns and army helmets. Between these get-ups and the "actors'" glasses, sideburns, and blue jeans, it was a ridiculous scene. (More like Lord of the Flies than the U.S. Army.) Which was witnessed by several families and dog-walkers who walked past us in Danbury's beautiful Tarrywile Park.

It's going to be an awesome movie. Brian's done a bunch of these, which will all be available on one DVD soon. (What "available" means, I don't know. But if anybody wants a copy, let me know, and I'll see what Brian wants to charge.)

I've been following my mom's book's sales ranking on Amazon.com. It was cool to see it go from the 600,000s to the 100,000s when it first started getting publicity. Then watching it break the 10,000 and 5,000 marks. With today's New York Times review and article, and the Boston Globe's review (which incorrectly called it a "crime novel," unbelievably, as the name is "Girls of Tender Age: A Memoir"), it has soared to new heights, currently the 337th most purchased book on all of Amazon. A good number--the one Bill Lee wanted to wear, since it spells "LEE" upside-down.

Thanks to everybody who bought the book after seeing it here. And if you haven't bought it yet, you can get it here.

As for this Coco Crisp stuff, well, we'll see if it gets finalized. I don't like giving up Marte and Mota, but we need a center fielder. I'm thinking, though, if we're giving up all that, shouldn't they be giving up Grady Sizemore instead of Crisp? We could use a Grady with more size than Little. Still, having a guy named after a breakfast cereal can't be bad. Unless it was Mueslix or something like that.

*Note: The title of this post uses a "k" in "Markus" because that's how my roommate, Markus Chan, spells his name. So, now you think it's a funny title, right?

I'm happy for your mom, and to anyone who is even remotely thinking of a new book for the shelf, I personally recommend it. And I am an avid reader who knows good from trash. A good read, intricate in meaning while entertaining in style. Where'd THAT line come from?